No word about the Alchemy mess...
I have to admit I zoomed out when this started to be discussed here and the number of pages sprouted away. Is there some kind of summary about this?
The Alchemy version that will be released on Friday consists of:
1) The songs already released in 1984, with no new mix, with some cuts, some harmless (like the ending of PB before TOL and a lot of clapping), some problematic (the beginning of GH is cut, it seems that the source is the original vinyl rather than the original CD).
One oddity, a "Thank you!" from Mark was added at the beginning of R&J, whereas it is featured neither on July 22nd nor July 23rd!
The excellent 2010 mix (the blu Ray one) by Chuck Ainlay was not reused, which is pity because it was much better, and also featured Mark's speeches in TOL and GH INTRO.
2) The 3 missing songs, with a clear 2023 new mix. EL and TBTP are complete, but for PB, only the extended intro was kept. The extended outro, and especially the guitar / sax duel between Mark and Mel has been cut, with a fade out leading directly to TOL intro.
Overall, a lost opportunity IMHO...